This application is the U.S. national stage application of International Application PCT/GB00/01017, filed Mar. 24, 2000, which international application was published on Oct. 5, 2000, as International Publication WO 00/57739 in the English language. The International Application claims priority of Great Britain Patent Application 9906994.0 filed Mar. 27, 1999.
This invention relates to a safety helmet and in particularxe2x80x94but not exclusivelyxe2x80x94to a safety helmet for use by cyclists.
Increasingly, riders of pedal cycles are wearing safety helmets, in order to give a degree of protection to the rider""s head in the event of an accident. The usual form of safety helmet comprises a foamed plastics moulding having an outer skin of a tough plastics material and which often also is coloured or otherwise decorated. Such a helmet is relatively light to wear and gives some protection in the event of a low speed accident, but is of course quite unsuitable for use by motorcyclists, where speeds may be very much higher.
A cyclist""s helmet is relatively bulky and so inconvenient to store or carry when it is not in use. This is a particular disadvantage in the case of a person who uses a bicycle for part of a journey and some other form of transport for another part of a journey; it is not practical for security reasons to leave the helmet with the bicycle and yet to carry the helmet when not riding the bicycle is very inconvenient. A typical helmet, for example, will not fit in a conventional form of briefcase or handbag due to its width, as predetermined by having to fit a user""s head.
The above problem has already been addressed, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,071. The solution proposed therein however does not allow the manufacture of a commercial helmet meeting current safety criteria since the folding action described in that prior specification requires the use of relatively thin panels giving insufficient impact protection.
It is a principal aim of the present invention to provide a safety helmet which, by suitable selection of materials and construction, is capable of meeting all relevant safety standards for cyclists"" helmets and yet which, when not in use, is not as bulky as a conventional cyclist""s helmet, and which is thus relatively convenient to be stored or carried when not in use as a safety helmet.
According to the present invention, there is provided a safety helmet comprising a substantially rigid moulded plastics elongate curved top panel adapted to extend over the crown of a wearer""s head from front to back, a pair of substantially rigid moulded plastics elongate side panels each adapted to extend around a respective side of a wearer""s head, each side panel being separately pivoted at its two ends to the respective two ends of the top panel, the two pivotal connections of one side panel being displaced to one side of the centre-line of the top panel and the two pivotal connections of the other side panel being displaced to the other side of the centre-line of the top panel whereby the two side panels may be pivoted inwardly of the top panel so as lie mostly within a volume defined by the top panel, and strap means connected to the top panel and to each of the two side panels and adapted in use to extend under the chin of a wearer, the strap means serving to limit the relative separation of each of the two side panels from the top panel whilst permitting said inward pivoting of the side panels.
The safety helmet of this invention as described above is, in effect, foldable by relative pivoting of the panels. By allowing the two side panels to pivot inwardly towards the top panel, the overall volume of the folded helmet can be reduced to not much greater than that of the top panel itself. When so folded, the helmet is thus significantly less bulky than when opened out for wear. By appropriate dimensioning of the top and side panels, the helmet may be folded sufficiently to permit its easy storage for example in a briefcase or handbag, or in some other container or carrier.
In a preferred embodiment of safety helmet of this invention, the top panel has at its front end a front portion which, in use, partially extends over a wearer""s forehead and at its rear end a rear portion which at least partially overlies the back of a wearer""s head. Intermediate the front and rear portions, the top panel should be curved generally to follow the shape of a wearer""s head. The front and rear ends of each side panel may be pivoted respectively to said front and rear portions of the top panel. To ensure safety and reliability in use, a respective reinforcing element for example of metal may be provided in each of the front and rear portions of the top panel, each side panel then being pivoted to the reinforcing elements. Alternatively, the material of the front and rear portions may be of increased thickness, to give sufficient strength to the top panel.
As with the known forms of cyclists"" helmets, the helmet of this invention may be made from a foamed plastics material and reinforcing bars, for example of a metal such as aluminium, titanium or stainless steel, may be embedded in that plastics material, during the course of manufacture by a moulding operation. Each reinforcing bar should extend along the length of the respective panel and, in the case of the side panels, that bar (or one of the bars, if there is more than one) may project from the ends of the side panel to form the hinge which connects the side panel the top panel.
Alternatively, each panel may be injection-moulded from a thermo-setting or thermo-plastic material; in this case, each panel may include one or more voids therein to reduce the weight thereof. A further possibility is for each panel to comprise a compound material, consisting of an outer injection-moulded shell and carrying an inner liner of a foamed plastics material adhered to the shell. The shell may include webs to impart sufficient rigidity thereto, in which case the foam liner may have recesses to accommodate those webs. Further, the inner profile of the foam liner may be moulded to suit different head sizesxe2x80x94for example, three different sizes of liner may be employed. Such a compound material may give advantageous properties as regards rigidity as well as impact resistance.
Preferably, the strap means has two strap parts disposed one towards the front and the other towards the rear of the helmet, each strap part being connected to the top panel and to the two side panels and each strap part serving to limit the relative separation of the side panels from the top panel. The two strap parts may be connected to the respective panels such that the parts converge below each side panel and come together somewhere below the ear of a wearer or near his chin. Preferably, a releasable buckle is provided, arranged to permit adjustment of the length of strap means, as with a conventional cyclists"" helmet, to facilitate the fitting of a helmet to suit a wearer and the removal of the helmet when it is to be taken off.